TARTanFest, the “HeART of Highland”

For one night each year Highland is transformed to a stage for the arts. But it is not just for the performing arts, it’s for every art affiliated class at Highland. Some students work at the sculpting wheels, others play their trumpets loud and proud for everyone to hear. In the span of only two hours, almost every student in the arts department, can be found expressing themselves in the way they love most. While it may seem as though the event would be chaotic, what with singers performing in the courtyard, dancers sashaying around the cafeteria, actors transforming into multiple characters near the stairs, and artists sketching in a clearing, TARTanFEST finds a way to turn what seems to be a commotion into a cohesive song.

Every year TARTanFEST is reinvented. While the same programs choose to participate time and time again, the way that the art is portrayed is consistently different. Each year, neighbors, community members, students, families, find a new way to appreciate the art that Highland students have to offer. This year, the PTA decided to showcase the arts through creating a cleaver and timely program. Attendees had the opportunity to gaze at students working on their own piece of art and then take a sneak peak at any of the performing arts programs. While theater, choir, band, and dance programs all had at least six performances each, the night was scheduled in such a way that none of the performances happened simultaneously.

“At TARTanFEST students, parents, teachers, and community come together to showcase performances from Dance, Drama, Choral and Instrumental music. Also, Ceramics, Visual Arts, Photography, 3D Arts, Welding, Literary Magazine, and even Wood Shop provide samples, gallery displays, and up close demonstrations. The purpose is to celebrate our amazing student artists! Sponsored and coordinated through Highland’s administration and the Highland Arts Council (HAC), TARTanFEST is a yearly chance to sample a collaborative, choreographed smorgasboard of the best performances, pieces, masterworks, and vignettes of the year,” Luanne Schmidt previous president and current secretary of HAC said.

TARTanFEST, gives everyone the opportunity each year to get a taste of what the artistically gifted students of Highland are up to each year.

“We get to see the performing artists often because of their performances, and love being able to see them at TARTanFEST, but with the visual artists, they have a more limited venue to be able to show what they’ve been working on. I think TARTanFEST is a great mixture of both the performing and visual arts,” principal Chris Jenson said.

TARTanFEST is one of the only opportunities that visual art students get to show the skills that they have elicited in the previous school year. Through this yearly event, students are able to show the public what they have been working on. But it is not just the visual artists who get to shine at TARTanFEST, many of the students involved in performing arts are given the opportunity to perform solos or small group pieces.

“For me personally, the arts and music has given me a sense of family at Highland, a sense of belonging. TARTanFEST is an event that allows everyone to see the bond that art students of Highland have with one another,” Erik Newland a senior said.

TARTanFEST presents Highlands upcoming artists in a positive way that makes the community involve and proud of the creative adolescents that attend Highland. With TARTanFEST being one of Highland’s most inspiring traditions, one can be excited for it to continue for years to come.